Looking for answers to life's questions

It’s here, technically. Too warm to snow must mean spring. April showers and all that stuff. Well, we have had plenty of those. We had our wettest March on record and April has been no slouch. Our flowering trees didn’t.

Add high winds to that rain and you have a disaster in the making. My neighbor directly across from me has lost a major portion of her back yard and the two on either side of her have lost quite a bit as well. When I finally got a look at it, I was thinking a moving truck was in order immediately. Somehow, everyone there seems comfortable sleeping at night. The management, landscape and work crews from the park as well as the owner are here almost every day to check and see if anything has changed. There are no trespassing signs up and plastic fencing to keep everyone away. I didn’t get a photo being too stunned by what I saw. The buck is being passed around quite liberally.

High winds took down the fountain and brought someones metal roofing into my yard.

Two doors down from the major portion of the slide I noticed a rather tall tree that I don’t think had been leaning before taking direct aim at the house where an infirmed woman lives with her grandson. I was concerned. So I did what I could. I talked to the neighbor that knows everyone and everything. She said she would mention it to one of the work crew. I watched the tree as our April winds picked up and lo and behold, there was the entire entourage from park owner, management and crew watching as a professional outfit dressed to tackle the job. I have to admit, I got very little done that day other than watching the process. An old friend’s words came back to me as I watched, “You can’t beat a man at his own game.” The professional tree trimmer made short, safe work of the project.

View from my front porch

Can you see the lean of this tree?

Professional crew to do this job.

Dark skies rolled in so you could hardly see the dot of the man.

branches are fed into the chipper for mulch later

Monkey man in the almost gone tree

My friend, Emily was coming over to organize fabric with me and I had to admit to my preoccupation with watching the poor tree come down. I hate to see trees get cut but this one had clearly lost its footing and was possibly going to hurt several people.

This week was a bit more productive. My friend, Sabine brought me a Forsythia bush she had started from one of hers and some ground cover. It took all day for me to carry buckets of heavy, wet clay out of a hole to the top of the terraces so I could plant the shrub. I got my exercise that day. The ground is a soggy mess with no drainage. I’ve added amendments and quality soil to give it a good start. The climbing rose bushes I dug out by the front steps last fall have oddly survive the serious neglect they got before going into more of that miserable clay in the back. The two lower terraces have been weeded, and hydrangea’s trimmed up.

Forsythia in the pot

It looks happy here.

These were keeping us from going up the front porch steps. They are looking much more hardy now.

In between my naps, visits with friends, and some organizing, I somehow got a baby blanket made getting some of baby girl flannel out of my tubs and to good use. I also was able to celebrate my daughter’s birthday with her at a new Tea Shoppe. They were very nice but the food left something to be desired. I was just happy we could spend the day together before she headed to the beach with friends.

Tea party. My daughter took most of mine home.

I bought my daughter these socks for Christmas. I think she is awesome.

This months squares were done and turned in

Full view of extra soft baby blanket

Baby blanket close up

Orla is Irish dad’s word for princess.

So how is your spring shaping up? Is the cold hanging on or is it being skipped for shades of summer already?

“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” ~ Margaret Atwood, Bluebeard’s Egg

Thank you so much. This has been a very odd weather year and this manufactured home park has been here more than 25 years. This is the first time there have been landslides. No one else had noticed that tree leaning. I just didn’t want anyone hurt by it. Yard is still a work in progress and happy to still have one.

I am relieved to hear your home survived the damage, good call on the tree too. Our spring has been weird, that seems to be the only word I can come up with any more for the weather. It was hot for a while in March then got really cold again. Now we go from 80 one day to barely 40 the next. It’s been quite the roller coaster around here and everyone is getting sick, except me… keeping my fingers crossed.

Weird is the word I use for the weather too. We had one 70 degree day and I used it to plant the bush. Will barely make 50 today or this week. I know soon I’ll be complaining about the heat so I’m enjoying this. We had immense rain last night and the manager and crew were just across the street checking the slide. I consume so much garlic, the germs avoid me. The lousy food kept me from eating more than I needed. We had time to have a good chat.

Yes, the weather has certainly been odd this year. Where I live spring is usually a fairyland of blooms on every tree and bush, this year, almost none. This has serious ramifications for birds, bees, and normal proliferation of the cycle of life for every creature, including humans, food will become far less abundant. Karen

Wow, the weather has been so weird in so many places. How can anyone say there is no climate change??
It’s spring here. The trees have baby leaves and I need to find someone to cut our grass already. It’s not exactly warm yet but Canada still turns green because it knows it has a short time to do so. 😉
We’ve been getting rain for about a week now. Not downpours but steady mist and slow rain. I do hope it warms up soon but like you, I’m enjoying what we have now.
I wish I had a garden. I want to plant some things but I can’t do it on my own and of course the husband can’t help. I may need to find me a handyman. lol
I always love your quilts. Have a wonderful day, Marlene! Big hugs!

It rained so hard again last nigh and management was here to check out the slide. Still no sign of movement there though. Gardens are a lot of hard work. I noticed it was harder this year than previously. Getting old and tired. Maybe it’s my attitude that’s getting old and tired. 🙂 Big hugs to you too.Have a good week.

Good morning Marlene! The bush looks happy in your yard! I’ll get the other ones started. The baby quilt is beautiful and it feels so soft!
I’m glad the tree didn’t come down on your neighbors house. The wet soil makes it difficult for the roots to hold on tight, I guess. I’ll dig up some of the other plants I told you about this week.
Have a good week! 🙋

No rush on the plants. It will be wet all week so I won’t be getting outside unless there is a major break in the rain. Going to give my eyes a break in a few minutes and rest before starting my projects. The bush looks very happy and has lots of bone meal and great dirt. Thank you so much. It will be dry next week so I can get out there and get more done. I’ll send a note later. Hugs.

Hey Hey Hey Marlene! (say it like fat Albert) I read the beginning of your post twice, sounds like there was some kind of mud slide and your neighbours yard got buried? Is that right? Geez Loiuse, that’s really scary ! Happy to hear it was just the birdbath taking a hit at your place. We’re having our own weather woes here too. Snowed yesterday! We are not strangers to sudden spring snow but it’s been off and on for over a week. The day before I got back from NYC, it snowed 15 cm. No spring leaves, no tulips, no grass….just wet and icky out. I’ve been playing catchup with work stuff, although hey, crafting for work isn’t really work, ha!
Good for you to be landscaping already! It’ll be a month before I can even think about it. The birdies have really spilt alot of seed I can see now, so that’s on my list first. Vacuum the yard. LOL, the neighbours will really wonder what the hey…..I love a good yard vacuuming in the spring time LOL. hugs and love K

You make me laugh. Vacuuming the yard indeed. When we were living in the mountains, we would get snow even in late May. Shortest growing season ever. The whole back yard behind the neighbors house slid away into the creek. I think it’s continuing to slide even though the crew has done what it can to shore it up for now. I back up to a creek too but so far I’m in good shape. Her house is right at the edge of the creek now. They are going to have to move it, I think, but there will be litigation into who is responsible for the costs. The utility company owns that easement and the area behind the creek. Try getting them to cough up the dough to move the house. Ha! Everything is late this year or budding and not blooming. Bees are going hungry so I’m leaving my dandelions out back. 🙂 You don’t have spring until you no longer have snow. That’s my take on it anyway. At least you can go play at work. 🙂 Looking forward to seeing your new creations. Hugs & love too, M

I’m relieved to hear you’re safe, Marlene. High winds coupled with saturated ground is never a good combination. We had summer like weather for days, but the morning I commuted to work in the pouring rain with high winds and traffic signals dark. I was thankful I made it to the office safely. The baby blanket is adorable! It looks quite nuzzly. I hope you get some warmer weather.

I’m so happy I don’t have to commute in some of the weather we’ve had. Glad you made it too. The flannel in the blanket was quilting quality so it was REALLY soft. I don’t mind the cold temps, I just want a few more dry days to get out and do some work. We’ve had a lot of rain this year but will probably be wishing for it in a couple of months. We get no rain in the summer. 😦 Thanks for the visit.

I always find it fascinating reading about other people beginning their Spring work just as the world is sliding gently into winter around here… Not that you’d recognise it as such, but it’s cooler, dryer and more moderate in all ways than our blazing hot, massively humid summers! It sounds as if your area has been having more than its share of disasters – hope everyone stays safe. Don’t overdo it out there, hauling dirt!

Dirt would have been easy compared to the wet clay. That stuff is like lead. Took me all day to carry up 6 or 7 buckets full. I couldn’t do your massively hot, humid summers. That’s why I live here. I need cooler weather but thankfully we will finally get some drying out by the weekend. In over 25 years, this park has not had a slide like the one across the street. Rains are pretty heavy today. We will be wishing for them this summer though. It is weird to have weather turned upside down in the southern hemisphere. I hated Christmas in the heat when we lived in Taiwan. Thanks for stopping by.

I love the Margaret Atwood quote, in fact I’ve referred to it myself from time to time. Our weather, on the “dry side” of the mountain hasn’t been much different from yours. We’ve had more rain and gray skies, but somehow everything is growing, including a potted hydrangea and honeysuckle that I thought for sure would have been dead as doorknobs after the sub-zero temps this winter. Spring is a slow comer this year, but it will be (has been on a few days) fabulous!

Thanks for stopping by, Missy. I’m also surprised by what made it through this winter. Some signs of spring but it’s so wet out, we can’t go enjoy them. By next weekend it should finally turn. Yay! Hope you are doing well too.

Beautiful photos! And wonderful post – I loved hearing about the story of the leaning tree – glad everyone was all right, but I was also torn like you said: seeing a tree come down always makes me sad. But, it’s better that than hurting folks. They’ll be able to use the wood and it’ll go to good use, I think. And your forsythia. Ahh…I love that bush! We had ours blooming here in March, but then a cold snap froze the flowers and they went limp. Eh…well…a few days later, leaves sprouted right over the blooms…and our bush has taken off. But…I’m glad for the greenery and *so* glad for spring. 🙂

Thank you for stopping by. The friend that brought the bush start had been bringing me branches of her bush to help push the winter doldrums away. I loved it. Our flowering plums didn’t flower this year either. The wood will be used by the utility company to make mulch and wood chips. Whenever I had to take down a tree, I always planted 3 more in a better place. Not sure what will happen as that ground is no longer stable. We will see. I’m ready for some sunshine. 🙂

I’ve been trying to reply to your previous comment but it’s either going through multiple times showing not sent or for some reason that message is just stuck somehow. Here is the comment:
Thank you. I have a hard time keeping up too so I barely get 2 blogs a week written and I don’t have a job. 🙂 Keeping up with all my reading is almost a full time commitment as well. I’ll keep popping by.

Thank you, Marlene. Hmm…not sure what’s up, but I can see your message on my end – in my wordpress reader. Though sometimes with .com and .org blogs (mine is .org) comments can get a little sticky – it has to do with a wordpress.com glitch that doesn’t carry over to .org. One day they’ll get it figured out, I hope. 🙂 But thanks again. I hear you: I only write once a week (usually a long post because of that) and the rest of time is devoted to comments, marketing, and working on projects related to the blog. Funny how time flies like that. 🙂 Sending hugs!

Okay, that sounds scary – you need to take care! Apart from anything else, you don’t want to be slipping around and falling in the wet ground.
I love that your plants are bringing you such pleasure (despite the effort of getting some of them planted!). My little plant world has kept me going in the last few months, so I can relate.
If that baby blanket was any bigger, you’d see me under it. It’s absolutely gorgeous! So rewarding to make something for someone else.
I hope you get some lovely sunshine soon. xxx

Thanks for stopping by, Jill. It’s pouring buckets now but May 2 has sun in the forecast. 🙂 A friend saw the baby blanket before I mailed it and said she wanted to be a baby again to crawl under it. It is the softest quilt flannel and so hard to come by now. I hope it gets well used and loved. Plants and my garden are where I find the most peace in the world. When it’s not soggy. 🙂

I love the comment up there about vacuuming the yard; what with all this wind and rain, ours is covered with debris. So glad you saw that leaning tree! I noticed several leaning Doug Fir trees after that recent big wind and some smaller ones that had actually snapped. All on our road. Weird is right. Your quilts are beautiful. I’ve been itching to get outside to plant and work in the yard–and yes, get my fingers dirty–but it’s been so swampy. I have babies coming up in my greenhouse, though. 🙂 Sooo ready for sunshine. Enjoy your yard. Have a great week. 🙂

I’m ready for sunshine too and in a couple months we will be complaining about the heat. The people that lived in the house the tree was leaning over are not outside people. I don’t think they noticed. I watch the sun come up in that direction so I noticed. It’s blowing rain here this morning again. Do you have to clean up all the downed trees and branches on your road? Firewood? 🙂

What a stressful time, with the rain and the worries about slides and falling trees! I feel terrible for the people right on the edge of that slide. You were very smart to notice and report the leaning tree–I hate to see a tree cut down but that one was a disaster waiting to happen! I think it’s impressive how much you’re accomplishing through all this! Your projects are great!

Thank you, Kerry. It’s almost behind us now. I see a day of sun in the forecast for next week and dryer weather ahead. There have been so many with weather related issues this year. I’m luckier than many. We all just keep plugging alone. I’m glad I said something about that tree too. Those are nice people living in that house. Would hate for them to be hurt.

Marlene.. You have been busy again I see.. and yes.. Spring was warmer in March than here in April. we have had winds.. Hail and thunder this week too..
So pleased that tree did get trimmed.. And like you I dislike seeing trees cut down.. but when life is in danger then needs must..
So pleased you were able to go out and celebrate with your daughter on her birthday And the baby blanket is lovely..

I can only imagine how heavy soggy clay soil was to remove.. So well done you and so pleased all is well with you and your property with the high winds.. I know there have been some big storms out and about your part of the world..
So please take care..

We have been busy planting the allotments and keeping things frost free as the nights still have been giving one or two frosts..
Otherwise we are all fine..
Lovely to catch up with you too..

Found out from one of the workers that the roots of the tree were, in fact, exposed and it was on it’s way over so I was right to sound the alarm. The people that live there are never outside to see what’s going on. Love and hugs back to you.

Oh I know what I meant to ask you too Marlene.. Lois seems to have deleted her blog.. Has she moved to another blog? She left a comment today and I tried to visit but her blog has been deleted.. Wonder if you know what has happened?

She was doing some work to combine blogs and I think it got away from her. I just sent her an e-mail to make sure but I’m sure it will be rectified soon. I try and keep track of her if she is away for more than a week. I care about her deeply as she is a very kind and caring person.

Marlene she is a most wonderful person.. and one that I admire greatly .. And Bless you for keeping an eye out for her well being Marlene.. I do not know how on earth she manages all she does from that chair.. ❤ xxx Hugs back

Ièm glad to see this, as I tried to leave the same question just before I left Tacoma and for some reason the comment wouldnèt post. I have a list of Villagers that I’ve tried to keep up with, although often I was only reading and not commenting. I often click the ‘like’ button to show I’ve been by (and am not trolling), but some people don’t have a button.

Anyway, I’m hoping all is ok at her end.

Lots of flooding and landslips here in BC right now, so I know what you are dealing with there. We were lucky to have good weather on the drive up last Wednesday and I completed the trip on the bus before too many roads were closed. Yesterday, though . . .

I’m so pleased you noticed that leaning tree and then did something about it. So often thewse days people are afraid to seem interfereing or else seem to think they are not their brother’s keeper; I love to see people like you setting good examples.

Big, warm hugs because soon enough you will only want a cool glance LOL.
Love and blessings, too, always. ~ Linne (and I’ll be dealing with emails this week, too, by the way, as well as comments on my own post).

Thank you Marlene.. 🙂 so very kind of you.. 🙂 Seems I logged in and found I am following but do not seem to be seeing updates.. but that is happening with a few.. Sending LOVE and Hugs your way my friend.. Enjoy your weekend xx

Marlene, it has certainly been an eventful spring in your neck of the woods: eroding backyards, leaning trees, miserable weather and flying objects landing in your back yard. This is what we experienced two months ago so I remember how disconcerting it was and the havoc the rain and winds brought to the valley. I’m so sorry this has gone on and on and on for you. It must be scary at times, wearying at others. Good for you for getting management to take down the tree before it fell down on an house or worse. My guess is the water-logged roots just couldn’t hold the tree upright any more. On the plus side, I’m glad to hear you’re spending time with your daughter and friends, and taking naps in between. The baby blanket is lovely. Your life seems full, despite the weather. I hope you get a real dry out soon so that the gardening (and weed pulling) can commence.

Oddly, Alys, I really don’t get too bothered about things all that much. I trust in the process. I see a problem, tell the most effective person I know about it and bingo, problem solved, The work crew here did say the roots of that tree were exposed from all the rains. I’ll be praying for those rains soon enough.
The chronic gray days were a little wearing but I try to use those days to get things done inside. We are getting overnight rain and after spending the day with daughter today, tomorrow is outside day. As soon as I can get out there I have plants brought by my forsythia bearing friend this morning that must go in the ground. We will have a mostly dry and warmer week.
I see spring moving quickly into summer without taking a deep breath. My life is VERY full. So far, everyday but Friday has something on the schedule. I am truly blessed. Life is good. At least that’s how I chose to see it. Good thing I’m nearsighted. 🙂 Giant hugs my friend.

Our spring is WET, WET, WET!!!! It has rained for a week straight. Our rivers are out of the banks which means flooding in the downtown areas. My garden is partially planted but I can’t get out there to finish the job since it keeps raining and it is also cold. After today it should start warming up.
Those trees that need to come down either mother nature does it, or you have to do it. We had a bad wind storm( they called it not tornado) about 10 yrs ago that took out all our old trees out back in neighbors yards. I had an elderly lady in living behind me that had a tree come down in her back yard and take up the entire yard. I yelled over to her after this wind came through. She yelled back, I am okay-thank goodness! It missed her house. Our whole street was lined with fallen trees cars could not get down for about a week as the chain saws were working. They said it was a E something wind, but not a tornado. IT left us without power for about a week too. It was a mess. Those winds change the landscape in a split second!
Beautiful blanket:-)

When I hear about other’s weather challenges, I count my blessings and see the perspective. We are very lucky with mostly mild weather here and expect rain. We are all getting more than we expect this year. Sounds like you had a storm that made you count your blessings too. Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a lovelier May.

That tree sadly turned into a danger for those people and I’m glad it had been taken care of.
The blankets look great, Marlene! And Orla sounds very lovely! Hope Spring improves soon. Around here it’s very mixed and still quite cold. Happy First of May! 😄

I am never bored here either. Like you, I always have a long list of chores to do. I guess that’s what keeps us young and moving forward. Not nearly as busy as you. Energy does wane more quickly than when I was even a couple of years younger. Need more naps now. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderfilled Sunday.

Hi Marlene! I am so grateful that you were safe from the landslide!! And to your credit, I’ve a feeling you were instrumental in that tree not causing a catastrophe. The weather is so volatile in different areas of our country (heck the world!) So much raw energy running around causing havoc…I feel it in the air! We have not had very much rain where I live, but have had no lack of wind. Most of Florida is on fire…with the exception of where I live…that is until yesterday! I was driving and suddenly noticed black smoke up ahead to the left. You can just tell when a fire is a ‘bad’ fire. It was early and trucks were on the way. It reminds me of a fire many years ago at “Great Adventure” and amusement park in NJ. My sister worked there and my mother and I were picking her up. As we arrived we saw the smoke and it was a terrible feeling…because it was so clear that it was a BAD fire! I think 7 people lost their lives that day!!
Anyway, my friend, I have been so absent and need to catch up! I hope that you are well…I see you have not posted for a while. So I am sending loads of love and good energy and hope that you are busy creating something awesome!!! Much love, Marlene!

Thanks so much Lorrie for stopping by and for your concern. I can’t seem to get a post put together right now. It’s taking it’s time trying to figure out how to express what’s next. It may come at sleep time or in the early morning hours. Fire is something that instills a fear deeper than any other. The neighbor that lost her back yard moved out today and her home will be moved as soon as the ground is stable.I picked my place carefully. A gully behind me would have been a definite no brainer. I asked a lot of questions before I bought this place though I did miss a few things. Oh, well. Live and learn. Have a wonderfilled weekend.

Hello Marlene! It’s been such a long time since I’ve been able to visit and I’ve enjoyed spending the evening catching up.
I was smiling as I read about you being preoccupied by the tree work. I’ve a friend who does this for a living and where ever he goes, people stop what they are doing to watch, sometimes for hours. As hard as it is to see a tree come down, I’m glad that it didn’t fall on the house.
It sounds as if you’ve been very busy and I hope all is well!

Thanks for stopping by, Laurie. I know how busy you are too. I don’t have nearly the commitments you have but never seem to get it all done. We haven’t quite floated away yet but it was getting iffy there for a while. 🙂 Have a wonderfilled week ahead.

Well of course I just had to come over here and see what was oh-my-goodness-y. And this fits the bill. Wow, what a heap of bad weather. We had rain and wind here, that brought tree branches down, but it seems like what you’ve been going through is much worse. GOOD FOR YOU for speaking up and getting word around that a tree was leaning over a house. I am so glad to hear the park owner and managers took it so seriously. What a relief to have them show up and do the right thing in the midst of all that unnerving wet and wind.

Your quote at the end is my sentiments exactly. What else is a person meant to do in Spring but put their hands in the dirt? My knees are muddy too. I have to wash a sinkful of dishes to get all the dirt out from under my fingernails, and I wear gloves! It’s still pretty wet, though. I’m still using my winter snow boots, because they are waterproof and I can slog through the mud and keep my feet dry.

I just had a beekeeper stop by today. A Russian man with his teenage daughter as a translator. I had invited them to consider my property for a beehive. They will install the hive in June and leave it here through October. My payment is 5 GALLONS of honey! How wonderful is that?! Plus I get to learn a little about bees, and do my small part to help strengthen the bee population in the world.